Saigon 2014

This is my 2nd travel post but it was suppose to be my 3rd one but I didn't publish the 2nd one because my favorite relative named uncle laziness visited me. Luckily, I visited the place again this year.

Saigon Central Post Office

Saigon holds a special place in my heart. I consider it my 3rd home if that's possible. Philippines being 1st and Singapore being 2nd.

Bitexco Financial Tower

The place itself is fascinating.  It's Asia but you can see more Americans and Europeans than Asians in this place. I believe its a haven for them because the place is affordable; accommodations,  food, transportation and fun night life.

Motorcycle is very popular in Saigon

 Always wanted a Vespa and I see a lot of them here <3

The people are friendly, if you ask them questions like directions they will really try to help you even though sometimes you really do feel the language barrier but the thought of helping counts right?

The food is exceptional.  Low calorie, healthy and delicious, three words that best describe their cuisine.  Most of their food have vegetables in it, may it be fried, soup and stew.

Beef Pho

Fried Rice Flour Cake aka Bánh bột chiên

 

Tip : Don't be surprised if they add 2,000 or maybe upto 5,000 dong to your bill if you used their wet tissues, sorry to tell you but they're not for free.

I'm not a fan of vegetables but they have a unique way of presenting it so you'll end up eating them out of curiosity.  Their meats are so good, I don't know if they marinated them or what but it tastes good like chorizo / pork sausages savory kind of good. I think this place is a food haven to food bloggers.

You must try their mango. It's not as sweet as mango produced in the Philippines but for some weird reason they're addicting that you'll end up eating at least one whole mango a day.

 ultimate favourite, coffee pudding~ <3

I'm not a big fan of coffee unless they're incorporated with frappuccino but Vietnam has the best iced coffee ever. Asian Dolce Latte which is said to be at par with Vietnam's coffee is no match for the real thing. Even non coffee lovers would appreciate their coffee.

Tip: if you like to take home their awesome coffee you can buy coffee at Ben Thanh and buy the coffee filter set too but don't ever re use the coffee because it will taste horrible. You can also buy Nescafe Ca Phe Sua Da if you think the beans is too much of a hassle. It tastes the same I promise and I have been buying boxes of it before I go home in case I miss Ca Phe Sua Da.

bubble tea craze invades Ho Chi Minh but not as popular as their coffee

 Glutinous Rice Desserts

There are high class hotels and there are homes turned into a mini hotel. It depends upon where you want to stay but I would say if you want to have more money for shopping like me then go to family homes turned into hotels, they're cheap like 25 usd per day and I can recommend a cheap hometel for you guys. Search Mai Guest house on booking.com or agoda, I stayed there 2 times already and I prefer it than the previous hotel I stayed since this one's closer to Ben Thanh.

Contrary to the popular belief that Vietnam is a place full of farmers and their  place is not urbanized, well you guessed it wrong. I'm not undermining the place, it's just I have been hearing a lot of questions as to why I prefer going to Vietnam every now and then when they vision the place during the time of the Miss Saigon era.

Korean culture is very popular in Saigon, you can hear malls playing Korean music even their music charts  are full of Korean pop. Korean food, cosmetics, skin care are all there well I didn't see Nature's Republic though.

To satisfy my korean cravings everytime I go here, I go to Lotte Mart which is located at District 7. I really wish I could bring all the banchans they sell ;_____; but sadly the lady said their airport will not allow it but they're really good at giving out samples which can satisfy your curiosity to buy that side dish or not. I bought tteokbokki and dried fish there for my personal consumption during our trip.

 Can you guys believe these are fake flowers??

Cute and unique bags at Ben Thanh market

Some masks I found at the night market

Shopping is a must do since everything's practically cheaper. Branded clothes like Aeropostale, Zara and F21 can be found at Saigon square. They're not replicas, some of the produced clothes in Vietnam are retained in the country to attract tourists to buy them. How cheap? Like 50% off kind of cheap.

Ben Thanh market is also a must visit for shopaholics like me because they sell different goods like food, clothes, accessories, glasswares, fabrics and even wigs. I buy my candies here which is a good pasalubong. The spicy tamarind and pandan coconut candy is recommended.  You can try their candies before buying them so that you know what it tastes like and not end up buying weird stuff. Spicy Dried Squid is also good. You'll end up craving for a cup of hot rice to pair it up with.

Tip : Refrain going to Ben Thanh market during Sundays because some shops are closed and not all tenants in Ben Thanh are present in Ben Thanh night market.

Was lucky enough to witness a prenup photoshoot at Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica

Questions are welcomed and I'll respond to them as soon as I can. I'll post another travel post regarding Vietnam this time as my mobile diary.

I was not able to tackle about the historic places in Vietnam because I have never been to any. I was here to rest, shop and eat. Hopefully I can visit their historic places next.

*this post was suppose to be published before October ended so my food blogger friend who will go to Vietnam will at least have a guide there but ended up publishing it when he came back. Mian oppa </3